Norman A. Mordue
How Judge Mordue rules, drawn from 5 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Mordue no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Mordue
Norman A. Mordue was a judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. Appointed by President William J. Clinton, Judge Mordue received a commission on October 22, 1998. Judge Mordue assumed senior status on June 30, 2013 and served until death on December 29, 2022.
How Judge Mordue decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
In Rella v. New York State Office of Mental Health, he deferred the defendant’s argument about what a decision maker knew until summary judgment because the plaintiff could not be expected to plead that knowledge at the dismissal stage.
“Defendant’s argument is better suited for summary judgment since it would be difficult at this stage for Plaintiff to say what Ms. Olivadese knew, or when.”
In Vance v. ACCO Brands, he rejected a retaliation theory at summary judgment because the plaintiff’s own belief that the employer intended retaliation did not supply evidence of pretext.
“Plaintiff believes that ACCO intended to retaliate against him by criticizing his work, however, his own personal belief is insufficient.”
In Burke v. New Venture Gear, Inc., Judge Mordue construed the pro se complaint liberally but dismissed the claims against an individual supervisor because Title VII imposed no individual liability and the other asserted theories failed.
“Courts read pro se papers liberally, interpreting them 'to raise the strongest arguments that they suggest.'”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“ORDERED that the motion by defendant Jesse H. Hall to dismiss all claims against him pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) is granted.”
“ORDERED that defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing plaintiffs' claim for unlawful or illegal entry is GRANTED; and it is further ORDERED, that defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the infant plaintiff's claims for failure to file a notice of claim is GRANTED without prejudice”
“ORDERED, that plaintiffs' cross-motion for leave to file a later notice of claim is DENIED.”
“ORDERED that the motion (Dkt. No. 31) is denied with prejudice insofar as it seeks reconsideration, and denied without prejudice insofar as it seeks summary judgment”
“Accordingly, the Court denies the Government’s summary judgment motion without prejudice.”
“ORDERED that defendant's motion (Dkt. No. 55) for summary judgment dismissing the action is granted; and it is further ... ORDERED that the action is dismissed with prejudice.”
“ORDERED that Defendant's motion to dismiss (Dkt. No. 7) is DENIED”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
- Mordue's late-tenure docket sample (he went senior in 2013 and died in 2022) is dominated by numerous 2022 copyright actions brought by Strike 3 Holdings, LLC, generally resolved within two to four months, and administrative miscellaneous matters involving receiverships, subpoena or summons enforcement, and judgment registration, most resolved the same day or within days.
- Substantive merits matters, including land-condemnation, employment, and Section 1983 cases, were a minority of the sample.
- Observed nature-of-suit categories included copyright and Natural Gas Act land condemnation.
- Referred magistrate judges included Andrew T.
- Baxter, David Peebles, Daniel J.
- Stewart, and George H. Lowe.
Pending matters in the official report
Reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts under the Civil Justice Reform Act, as of March 31, 2026.
| Motions pending more than six months | 0 |
| Bench trials submitted more than six months | 0 |
| Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 0 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 2 | 4 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 6 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 5 |
| Sep 2020 | 1 | 5 |
A snapshot on that date: matters listed may since have been decided or reassigned. A motion referred to a magistrate judge is counted for both judges. Motions in multidistrict litigation, section 2255 cases and Social Security appeals are not counted, and a very large three-year count is generally a multidistrict docket. Source: Appendix A of the report (PDF); about the report.
A historical record
Judge Mordue no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled here. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.